PART-TIME greenkeeper Tony O'Shea has looked back with pride on his efforts at the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship.

PART-TIME greenkeeper Tony O'Shea has looked back with pride on his efforts at the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship.

Forty-two-year-old O'Shea made it all the way through to the semi-finals at the Lakeside Country Club before crashing out 5-1 in sets to third seed Mervyn King on Saturday afternoon.

Amidst a near frenzied atmosphere at the Frimley Green venue in Surrey, O'Shea started well but later pinpointed a turning point which eventually led to his downfall.

'Silverback' O'Shea said: "Mervyn got off to a blistering start on Saturday and only just missed a nine-darter.

"I did well to hang on to his coat-tails and was playing really well myself, but a major turning point came when I twice missed a double just before the interval.

"That would have made it 2-2 in sets, but it wasn't to be and Mervyn closed in on victory."

King went on to lose 6-3 in the final to Kent pub landlord Andy Fordham, but O'Shea was delighted to have secured a piece of semi-final action at just the third attempt of trying at the game's biggest tournament.

"I'm well chuffed with my performances," added O'Shea, "I've been playing and working towards getting to the Lakeside for around 20 years in total, and I love it there.

"There's no better feeling than trying your best there. I've had a taste of the later stages now and I want more of it.

"I'm guaranteed my place at next year's event now because I got to this year's semi's, but I want to go one step further in 2005.

"It's great for Stockport that my good mate Darryl Fitton did well too, we love it when the town gets mentioned at the Lakeside and it's nice to see people sit up and take notice of where we're from.

"My prize money has provided me with a nice few beer tokens as well."

O'Shea, who picked up a healthy £11,000 for reaching the last four, beat Scotland's Gary Anderson - the seventh seed - 3-0 in the first round at Frimley Green, before knocking out fellow Englishman Gary Robson 3-2 in round two.

In that match he averaged a superb 32.11 per dart, and then averaged 31.64 per dart during a thumping 5-1 quarter-final win over former champion Ted Hankey.